'Military Report on Russian Turkistan or Central Asia' [‎20v] (45/168)

28
of which a branch line runs almost due south to the
Afghan frontier—a distance of 104 miles), the main line
traverses the shifting sands of the Kara Ivum desert
until the Oxus is reached at Charjui. After crossing
the sandy tract of country lying between tbe Oxus
and Bokhara, tbe line follows tbe course of the
Zerafshan river as far as Samarkand, from whence it
again inclines to the north-east till Tashkend is reached.
A branch line diverges towards the east at a point some
126 miles east of Samarkand, and after passing Khojend,
Khokand and Margilan, reaches Andijan, the present
eastern terminus of the line.
Technical The line is a single one throughout, with passing
details. places, 500 yards in length and capable of accommodating
trains in pairs, between stations, at intervals varying from
4 to 8 miles* (see Appendices D and E). The gauge is
5 feet. The rails weigh from 65 to 68 lbs., which is
light for sustained heavy traffic. The track is level and,
for the greater part, straight; it is well maintained and
guarded, though liable to “ washouts,” inundations and
sand drifts.
Liquid fuel and w r ater are transported by train, the
former from Krasnovodsk. Reserve naphtha fuel stores
are maintained at the termini and principal stations.
Water is generally scarce, and has to be conveyed by
train for considerable distances.
Rolling stock available is estimated as follows:—
Locomotives about 330. Passenger cars, &e., 200;
wagons, trucks, cisterns, &e., about 9,300. (See Ap
pendix C.)
The main workshops are at Kizil Arvat, Askhabad,
Tashkend, and Krasnovodsk. Stations are well equipped ;
those at Krasnovodsk and Samarkand are somewhat
cramped, while that at Tashkend is spacious.
* The maximum interval, on the main line, as far as can
be ascertained, occurs between Charjui and Samarkand near
Kermineh, and is 8 miles long. Between Krasnovodsk and
Charjui the maximum interval is 7f- miles.
On the Merv-Kushk branch line the maximum interval is
miles.
Between Samarkand and Tashkend, and on the branch line to
Andijan, no such passing places between stations exist, at present.